Former Jail Contract Employee Sentenced to Federal Prison for Identity Theft and Tax Refund Fraud
ORLANDO, FL - November 03, 2015 - U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Lori Ann Dilworth to two years and one month in federal prison for conspiracy to submit false claims to the IRS and aggravated identity theft. She also was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $52,105 in restitution to the IRS. Dilworth pleaded guilty on August 4, 2015.
According to court documents, Dilworth worked at the Orange County Jail as a contract employee in the inmate records section. She stole the personal identification information of 36 inmates from the jail and provided that information to Shantrell Sharae Stephenson and other co-conspirators to use to file false tax returns. Another conspirator, Richard Damarick Mitchell, served as an intermediary between Dilworth and Stephenson. In total, more than $100,000 in fraudulent tax returns were filed with the IRS as part of the conspiracy.
Mitchell and Stephenson were also prosecuted for their roles in this conspiracy. On October 26, 2015, Mitchell was sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison for conspiracy to submit false claims to the IRS and aggravated identity theft. On August 26, 2015, Stephenson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, five counts of submitting false claims to the IRS, one count of theft of government property, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Her sentencing hearing has been set for December 14, 2015.
This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Middle District of Florida
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